


as the lion loves the lamb

by Demenior



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Lore, Eldritch Horror Lions, Gen, Non-Linear Narrative, Psychological Horror, Sentient Voltron Lions, What Are The Lions?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-16 05:05:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12336048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demenior/pseuds/Demenior
Summary: The Lions are powerful, ancient machines that have existed for eons. To be chosen by them is an honor only few have, for they pick only the greatest of heroes to serve them.But to serve a Lion is a life sentence. And a Paladins life is always a short one.The Lions are hungry.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Those of you who follow me on tumblr may have seen this already, but this is a new and improved version with more additions!! 
> 
> This idea spiraled out of a thought of 'what do I want to see from the Voltron lions?' and with any giant mecha, I want them to be the terrifying force of natures that NGE spoiled me with. There's some ode and inspiration to that series in this fic.
> 
> The fic is almost completely non-linear, and is compliant right up until the end of season 2 (and technically is season 3 compliant, but doesn't mention any specific plot points so ymmv)
> 
> Overall, here's an exploration about what it could be like to be chosen by and bound to something you don't truly understand.

Lance is sitting with Hunk, sprawled over one another with their legs tangled, up in Hunk’s bed, and licking a spoon of what passes for ice cream, when he stops and says,

“You can feel it too, right?”

Hunk is sucking on his spoon, letting the ice cream melt in his mouth layer by layer. He talks around it, “Feel what?”

“The Lions,” Lance says, and they both pause to let the importance of the title hang in the air, “it’s like there’s something there, in the corner of my eye. I can feel it, even when I’m not piloting.”

“I think you’re being paranoid,” Hunk laughs, “they’re just machines. Machines can’t be in your head.”

Lance frowns, considers the possibilities, and then shrugs, “Maybe. But isn’t it weird how Allura talks about them like they have personalities?”

 

* * *

 

“A lion chooses its Paladin,” Coran explains, “and it’s not to be taken lightly. You are important; you are part of something greater when you are a Paladin.”

“How can it choose if it’s just a machine?” Pidge asks, sensing a flaw and going in for the kill. Everyone else nods in agreement.

“Are they really ‘just’ machines?” Coran argues, “You know they’re greater than they appear.”

“And so are we,” Shiro says, smiling at his team.

They grin back, pleased with the praise.

The humans don’t know to ask more, and so Coran never elaborates on the subject.

 

* * *

 

“Have you ever wondered what they’re made of?” Pidge asks, scaling the Green Lion’s face. Hunk makes sure the belaying equipment is properly secure, for the hundredth time. He’s only done this sort of stuff at the indoor climbing gym, and those walls were too high for him. The Lion is much, much taller.

“Aren’t we supposed to let Coran take care of these things?” he calls up.

“It’s  _my_ lion,” Pidge says, with all the narcissism a teenaged genius can muster, “I think I should be able to help fix it.”

“I don’t know,” Hunk says warily, “I feel like this alien stuff is best left to, well, the aliens. What if you mess it up?”

“I never mess anything up,” Pidge says proudly. As if the universe is conspiring against her, her foot slips and she pitches forwards, smacking her face on the side of the lions muzzle and she drops the allowed fall length before the belay device kicks in. Hunk braces himself as the rope goes taut; his harness pulling tight as he counterweights her, and holds her in place. She swings in the air as she curls in on herself with a whimper, bouncing off the side of her lion.

“Pidge?” Hunk calls, “hey are you okay?”

Pidge groans, and when she pulls her hands away from her face blood falls to the floor below.

“Oh!” Hunk shouts, “oh no!” He fights the nausea of seeing blood and holds tightly to Pidge’s rope. The equipment holds secure. In the air, she stops swinging to rest against the Green Lion.

“I’m okay!” she calls, and it sounds like she’s gargling. Hunk gags.

Pidge wipes her bloody hands on the Lion's muzzle, offering an apology and a promise to come clean it later, and tries to keep her head up while blood continues to flow from her nose and mouth.

“I’m gonna bring you down!” Hunk calls. Pidge holds out a hand to give him a bloody thumbs up. She spits out more blood as she rappels down, continuing to drip onto her lion as she uses her bloody hands to push herself away from it.

When she reaches the ground, Hunk helps to unhook her harness while she leans forwards to keep bleeding onto the floor.

“I think my tooth is loose,” she moans. Hunk nearly goes green.

“Let's let Coran deal with maintenance from now on,” Hunk jokes. Pidge scowls, but lets him find a questionably clean rag nearby to hold against her face. With Pidge hunkered over, Hunk escorts her out of the hangar.

There’s a screech of metal on metal and gears whirring. The both stop and turn around. The Green Lion has moved its head. It’s watching them intently, eyes lit up. There’s still blood on its lips.

“It’s probably worried about you,” Hunk says nervously. He doesn’t like the focus of the Lion's gaze. He tugs at Pidge. She doesn’t offer any resistance. They all but flee the hangar.

When they come back later to clean up, the blood is gone.

 

* * *

 

“Show me,” Shiro tells the Black Lion, “help me understand you.”

And it does.

Shiro stands in the past, watches Zarkon and Alfor building the future. There’s something he should be looking at, what are they creating? He can’t turn his eyes up. He can’t look at it. It’s self-preservation.

Zarkon and Alfor, thousands of years in the past, direct the building of a grand machine. Shiro can’t look at it.

“They built you,” Shiro says.

The creature that becomes the Black Lion watches him, as if it can see him through time and space. He can feel its eyes on him. He can’t look up. The human mind cannot comprehend something as awesome and awful what that monster was.

Shiro comes back to himself in the cockpit. Surrounded by machine and engineering and purposeful design. There’s nothing living here.

He’s not sure if it’s the whole truth.

 

* * *

 

“The robeasts? Don’t worry, they’re completely mechanical. Just like Voltron,” Coran assures him.

Lance hesitates, “Then… why do they bleed when we kill them?”

Coran shakes his head, “Nonsense. You’re just seeing the liquids needed to make them move. They’re machines, they don’t feel or bleed. Don’t feel any remorse for them.”

Lance glances up at the Blue Lion, oozing thick, dark liquid from the injury to its shoulder.

“Just a machine,” he repeats.

He rubs at his shoulder, feeling a phantom ache. No matter where he stands, he’s sure that the lion is watching him.

“Now run along,” Coran shoos him out, “I promise I’ll have your lion ready to go in no time.”

Lance leaves, and only has a parting thought: why does Coran always insist on fixing the lions alone?

 

* * *

 

“You don’t understand,” Keith says, “the weblum was _huge_. I’ve never seen such a big animal. And it just— it lives in space!”

Shiro laughs, “And that’s what scares you?”

“Actually,” Keith shrugs, “what scares me more is that something that big exists, something that eats _planets_ … and it shoots lasers. It defends itself.”

Shiro furrows his brows, “I’m not following.”

“Animals only develop defenses if they’re hunted,” Keith explains, “so what’s out there that a weblum has to defend itself from? What else don’t we know about?”

Shiro stretches out his legs and leans back on his hands, looking up at the stars, “Well, hopefully we never have to find out.”

 

* * *

 

“I think…” Lance says slowly, sitting next to Pidge, “I think my Lion is talking to me.”

Pidge snorts, “Oh yeah? What’s it say?”

Lance taps nervously on his knee, “No, I’m serious. There’s… there’s a voice in my head. It’s not mine.”

This time Pidge does stop typing, and sits up to look at him.

Lance realizes what he’s said, “No! No, I’m not-- not like that. But… it’s there. I think it’s in my brain.”

“They’re just machines,” Pidge repeats, “they can’t… they shouldn’t talk.”

“Blue does,” Lance admits, “when it’s quiet, when I’m trying to sleep. Without my music, you know? I can hear her.”

“What does she say?” Pidge asks nervously.

Lance picks at a hole in his jeans, “She says ‘I love you’. Over and over again. And ‘you’re my pilot’.”

“That’s not… too bad,” Pidge says.

Lance shakes his head, “What she means, that’s the bad part. She loves me… because I’m _hers_.”

 

* * *

 

“You could pilot a lion, if you needed to,” Shiro insists.

Allura jerks back like she’s been burned, “Me? A Lion? Oh, no. I would never!”

Shiro furrows his brows, “Why not?”

“The Lions are— are specific, in whom they choose,” Allura explains, “I would never interfere with that. No, the Lions have chosen you. I won’t take you away from them.”

The phrasing is odd. Take you away from _them._

Doesn’t the lion belong to the Paladin?

 

* * *

 

Voltron collapses into the mountainside, sending up a wave of dust and debris. The robeast has no interest in something that doesn’t move, and it turns its attention back towards the village only a few miles away. The can feel the impact of its steps as it walks away.

“I, uh, I think I’ve lost power,” Lance confesses.

“We all have,” Shiro confirms, “Allura?” he calls over the com.

 _“What do you mean you have no power?”_ Allura demands.

“There’s nothing. Even the backup power is down,” Keith groans, “we’re sitting ducks.”

 _“That’s impossible,”_ Coran says over the line, _“Voltron was built with failsafe’s. None of the Lions can break programming like that.”_

“Well it did,” Pidge fumes, “whatever they hit us with, we’re outta commission. Nada, zip, zilch. Nothing’s moving.”

“Maybe that’s what happens when your robots are thousands of years old,” Lance laughs, barely concealing his anger at being useless, “they’re in serious need of some upgrades.”

“Has anyone heard from Hunk?” Shiro asks. They all try to contact him. The Yellow Lion remains quiet.

“Hold on, I got eyes on him,” Lance says, “I— oh shit, the cockpit is damaged. It looks really bad. The hull is all messed up, it’s bleeding everywhere.”

“Can you see Hunk?” Keith asks.

“No, everything’s dark and— wait, wait! He’s moving. Hey! Hunk! Do you have—”

Voltron lurches, and the sound of metal screaming and tearing cuts through the air.

 _“What’s going on?”_ Allura demands.

“I—” Lance sounds a little nervous, “Hunk just separated. It— I don’t know what he’s doing. It doesn’t look right. Hunk? Hunk!”

“I’m getting out to have a look,” Keith says.

“Me too,” Pidge agrees.

“Guys, we can’t—” Shiro groans. He’s not being listened to, so he gets up to manually open his cockpit as well.

The sun is setting, making it difficult to see detail in the dying light. The Yellow Lion, huge and heavily fortified, is moving in stiff, jerky movements. As if it doesn’t know how to stand.

“Is Hunk okay?” Pidge asks nervously. Her voice carries easily over the coms.

The Yellow Lions face is peeling off, panels broken from the force of the blows it's taken. Thick, dark ichor spills like blood from a wound. A massive paw comes up to grab at the armor, and begins to rip it off.

“What’s he doing?” Keith shouts.

 _“Stop him!”_ Allura shrieks, _“stop it! Don’t let it loose!”_

“We can’t do anything!” Shiro shouts, fear sent into overdrive at the panic in Allura’s voice.

The robeast turns at the sound, and spying movement, begins running back towards them.

“Everyone back inside!” Shiro orders. It’s the safest place they can be, “Hunk!” he calls, “if you can hear me, it’s coming for you!”

At this point Shiro has a sinking feeling that Hunk can’t hear them. And that’s the problem.

The Yellow Lion tears off a large chunk of the metal on its face just as the robeast attacks.

From inside their dead cockpits, they can only get glimpses of the fight. Of the robeast striking again and again, and the Yellow Lion’s snarling face, skin already healing where it ripped the armor off.

When the shaking stops they clamor out again.

Night has fallen. The moons are only just rising, and it’s too dark to see anything but shapes. There’s the sound of metal being sheared, of something wet and heavy. As the moons light up the night they can make out the slope of the Yellow Lion over the fallen form of the robeast.

The Lion is eating it.

 

* * *

 

Shiro wakes up in an unfamiliar location. It’s dark. He’s sprawled in a chair. Where is he? How did he--

He knows this smell. It’s the cockpit of the Black Lion.

Shiro’s almost sure he went to sleep in his own bed. How did he get here?

Well, he knows.

He’s been sleepwalking lately. He never used to. He hasn’t dreamed since losing his memories either.

But now he dreams of walking towards the edge of a cliff, of stepping off into infinity. He feels the pull of the abyss like concrete tied to his shoes. And then he wakes up in the Black Lion’s hangar. Or heading towards the hangar, or inside the Black Lion now. What is he trying to do in his sleep?

Shiro exits the Black Lion. He heads for his own bed, and can’t escape the feeling that he’s being watched.

 _I love you_ a thought occurs to him. It’s so abstract that it startles him.

 

* * *

 

“So what is this place?” Keith asks. He jumps off a large piece of rubble and activates his jetpack to soften his fall.

“A temple, I think?” Hunk says, shining the light on the wrist of his armor at the wall. Unlike Keith, he’s going to go the long way around. It’s safer that way. His light illuminates murals and carvings, so old that they cannot be described as weathered so much as they are faded. Only faint shapes remain to suggest intention. Hunk’s not sure what to make of it. It looks like there’s two groups of something.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Hunk asks.

Keith comes to stand beside him, squinting at the shapes. Hunk waits patiently. Keith has the most experience deciphering ancient alien scripture, so his guess is probably the best they’ll get.

“It… kinda looks like an offering,” Keith finally says, “maybe they did sacrifices to their gods?”

Hunk shudders, and when he looks back at the mural he thinks he can see what Keith is talking about.

“Man, why are old cultures always so weird like that?” he complains, “why can’t their gods be nice and just get, like, foot rubs or something?”

“Maybe that’s why they all died out,” Keith offers, “they gave too much, and their gods ate them all.”

Hunk frowns as Keith walks back into the darkness, searching for the artifact they came here for, “Was that supposed to be a joke?”

Keith doesn’t respond, and Hunk can hear him walking further and further away. He takes one last look back to the vague five shapes descending on their prey, and runs after his teammate.

 

* * *

 

Keith flies into space, untethered and without a way back. He’s freefalling— no, free flying. He’s spinning head over heels into oblivion.

His vision fills with red, of a machine moving with purpose and intent. Instinct makes him panic. A hundred thousand years of survival encased in his cells recognizes what this is and it is afraid. A predator, singling out prey that’s cut off from the herd, closing in on him and opening its jaws wide.

 _You must prove yourself worthy of your lion_.

The Red Lion bites down and claims him, whole.

 

* * *

 

Shiro sees the Yellow Lions wild eye, free from the blinders keeping it under control. Sees the life in them, that no machine should have, as it pauses to stare at them. The moonlight reflected off of the Lion’s true eye, making it glow like a small sun.

It contemplated, but ultimately decided the Paladins weren’t important prey at this time, and went back to ripping out large mouthfuls of organic material from the robeast and swallowing in large bites.

They wait in the dark, in silence, watching something monstrous and unable to do anything.

Shiro can only look at the Lion in the dark, so he can’t truly see it. He looks down at the Black Lion under his feet, huge and almighty. He wonders if it has a heartbeat. If it’s waiting for the moment it can escape its armor too.

Shiro thinks of that terrible thing he saw Zarkon and Alfor working on in the past. The thing he couldn’t look at, the thing that watched him, that became the lion that chose him.

Alfor and Zarkon weren’t building the Lions.

They were containing them. 

 

* * *

 

The Lions of Voltron are gathered together for the first time in over a thousand years.

“I have brought you new Paladins,” Allura informs them. She faces the Black Lion, and bows respectfully, “I hope this offering pleases you.”

 

* * *

 

“What happens if we try to leave?” Keith demands to Allura.

“You can’t,” Allura says, “who else will pilot the Lions to defeat Zarkon? They chose you. Won’t you honor that?”

Keith thinks about the Red Lion launching across space to bring him back. Maybe it isn’t so much about them honoring the Lions, as it is the Lions refusing to let them go.

“What are they?” Pidge asks.

Allura looks surprised at the question, “Don’t you already know?”

 

* * *

 

There's static in Pidges head. She can't think. She's restless, anxious, and can't sit still.

Her aimless wandering keeps bringing her back to the doors to Green's hangar. She hasn't been alone with her Lion since Yellow went feral.

(Coran has put the armor back together, tightened bolts and polished it until it shines. Hunk says Yellow projects _it was fun_ , and _can we play again?_ )

Not for the first time, Pidge reaches out to open the doors. She hesitates, again. What could she possibly say? What could she possibly do for something like Green?

The urge to open the door, to walk inside grows.

Even worse, Pidge isn't sure it's her that wants her in the hangar. She peeks in through the small window in the door. Green is sitting alone, dormant and unmoving in the dark just like where she left it.

As she watches Green turns its head to look at her.

Pidge could run. She could turn around and refuse to go in, to stand under those focused yellow eyes.

 _Comeincomeincomeincomein_ her brain whispers. She knows those aren't her thoughts, and yet they follow her no matter where she goes in the Castle.

Mustering her courage, Pidge enters the large room. She stays near the doors.

“What do you want?” She demands.

The lights, activated by thermal heat— why has Pidge never asked why they weren't motion sensitive before?— flicker on.

There's something at Green’s feet.

Pidge takes a cautious step forwards, craning her neck to see what it is.

It's the rope and harness she and Hunk had used that day Pidge split her chin open.

 _Comeincomeincomeincomein_ Green urges.

Pidge stares up into the Lion’s unmoving face and recalls all of the blood she'd smeared on it.

The blood was gone when they'd come back. She thought it had been Coran, or one of the others…

Or maybe Green wants her in here for very specific reasons.

Pidge backs out of the hangar, not once taking her eyes off the Lion. It doesn't stop staring.

 

* * *

 

 _“Lance you won’t be able to leave until the storm clears. You gonna be okay for the night?”_ Shiro asks over the comms.

“Roger that, I’ll just make myself comfy. Blue and I will have a sleepover,” Lance laughs.

 _“No!”_ Allura says quickly, _“you can’t sleep in the Lion. Long-term exposure isn’t good for you.”_

There’s fear in her voice that makes them all sit up and listen.

“Oh, um, okay,” Lance says slowly, “I, uh, I guess I’ll camp outside then?”

 

It's too cold, wet and miserable to camp outside. Lance doesn't tell anyone, but he moves back inside Blue and into the cockpit. He's safe here, and it's dry and arguably comfortable. Blue connects with him as soon as he’s on board, as is the ship protocol. It makes it feel like he’s not alone, and that’s comforting.

He's plagued with dreams all night. And he can't wake up, can't get away. He hunts, he chases and he wants to rip apart anything he can get his teeth into.

It's disorienting enough that when he finally wakes up, and manages to get back to the Castle, the first thing he does is rush to the kitchen.

And then he eats. And eats. And eats.

It never feels like it's enough.

 

* * *

 

Conversation stops when they pass the doors to the Black Lion’s hangar. They can feel it, just beyond the thin barrier separating them from its gaze.

It's hungry-- they all are, all of the Lions-- but Black has a taste for humans now. It swallowed Shiro whole, and it's waiting for one of them to step into its lair.

They know it's a trap. They know it's waiting.

 _Comeincomeincomein_ , says the lion to the Paladins. To anyone who will listen. Coran and Allura keep their heads down.

There's only so long they can prolong the inevitable. Someone has to pilot the Black Lion. All of the lions need to be piloted. And someone has to be here, to use them to stop Zarkon. Duty is a snare around their throats, and the predators are closing in.

They avoid it as long as they can.

Every time they suit up, stepping into the hangars, they play the most dangerous game of roulette.

How long before they're devoured too?

 

* * *

 

They were unable to stay away, morbid curiosity driving their steps. The Yellow Lion’s hangar isn’t closed to them, but they’ve all been politely told not to venture there. It’s not hard to avoid something that terrifies them. But Hunk hears it calling, he _has_ to see it. Before the truth is locked away. Pidge puffs her chest out to enter first, but her knees are shaking. Lance and Hunk follow.

The Yellow Lion stands tall, shackled to the walls. There’s chains and clamps covering it, keeping it immobile.

It’s not what you do to something friendly.

The armor plating still hasn’t been grafted back onto its face. As the bright lights of the hangar warm up and turn on, they watch with growing horror as the living eye, round and intelligent, opens and the pupil contracts as it looks down and focuses on them. There’s exposed flesh, pale and naked from lack of light for centuries, and huge, jagged teeth. As if the creature has no lips to cover them. It’s grinning down at them, or snarling.

Hunk clutches tighter to Lance. He knows that it’s looking for him.

“I wanna go,” he whispers.

There’s a monster in his Lion. His Lion _is_ a monster.

The chains creak and the Lion shudders as it tries to move.

They all leave before it can follow. No one sleeps that night.

 

* * *

Keith wakes up heavy. His mind feels like it was dragged through tar. He dreamt of animals fighting for scraps. Hierarchy, and the victor reaping the rewards.

Keith opens his eyes. He is not in his bed.

He’s lying in the Black Lion’s hangar. Between the massive paws of the beast like an offering.

Keith stands on stiff legs. He has no knife. He has no weapon to protect himself.

Shiro had mentioned he was sleepwalking, that the Black Lion had called to him in the night.

The lion has been without a pilot for too long now. Its head is turned down, watching him as he slept and watching him even now as he backs away. Its eyes follow him everywhere.

 _Comeincomeincomein_ , the lion whispers. It’s excitement is tangible like blood in his teeth. _You are my Paladin._

“No,” Keith says softly, as if a plea can stop a storm. It’s been without a pilot, and now it knows the measure of humans. It will take what it wants, it will choose who it wants.

Keith never once turns his back to the lion as he leaves. It lets him walk out, this time.

The Black Lion calls at his heels, _I love you_.

Keith wonders how long it will be until it loves him enough to consume him.

 _I love you for being mine_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [it's purposefully vague if Coran and Allura are aware of the Lions or not. You're allowed to decide for yourself. But considering the Lion swap that now has to happen... well, if Allura knows what's going on, she's not going to be happy when Blue starts calling to her....]
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write something for Halloween this year, and this story has always been something I wanted to come back to!
> 
> Here's my take on a big arc of the Voltron storyline, as seen in this 'verse where the Lions aren't quite foe, but they definitely aren't friends either...

Coran finds Allura standing before the Blue Lion’s hangar. It’s the middle of the night. She’s in her nightclothes, and in the dark.

“Allura?” he asks worriedly.

She jerks suddenly, and stumbles like she’s a puppet whose strings have been cut.

“Coran!” she gasps, and takes in her surroundings. Her eyes are bright in the dark.

“What are you doing up so late?” he asks.

Allura looks around and realizes where she is, “I… I was dreaming,” she says softly, and steps closer to the hangar doors. Through the window there she can pretend to peer into the dark. She almost feels like she can see eyes staring back at her.

“I heard it. The Blue Lion.”

“But you weren’t chosen as a Paladin,” Coran points out, “the humans were offered.”

Allura speaks as if she doesn’t hear him, and traces her fingertips along the glass, “they are… arguing. Compromising. Deciding.”

“A change,” Coran realizes.

A smile spreads across Allura’s face, “I have been chosen,” she says, “the Blue Lion wants me.”

“You will be worthy of it,” Coran says proudly, “I know it.”

 

* * *

 

“We can’t give them what they want,” Keith snarls.

“Of course not,” Lance agrees.

“But we have a duty to the universe,” Pidge says, “Voltron is the only thing that can defeat the Empire.”

“No one understands what Voltron _is,_ _”_ Keith argues, “and they’ve gotten along without it so far!”

“So we just… drop out?” Hunk asks.

“We keep fighting,” Lance says, and Keith nods in agreement, “but we just…”

“We hide the Lions,” Keith says, “or destroy them. So no one can—”

“Shh!” Pidge hisses. They all fall silent, listening for footsteps. They hear no sounds of someone coming or going. It doesn’t mean no one is listening. The walls have ears.

“We can’t pilot them anymore,” Keith says, “if we do…”

“I’m going home,” Lance insists, “when this is all over. And you’re all coming with me.”

Pidge nods, “We can focus on finding my family. Maybe Dad knows something?”

The all nod in agreement.

“Allura’s not gonna like this,” Hunk mutters.

“I don’t care what she wants,” Keith snaps. Hunk flinches, and Keith adjusts his tone, “Allura can do what she wants. But us? We’re not getting in those Lions ever again.”

 

* * *

 

It happens like a dream. The Black Lion senses him, like a lovelorn dog hearing the footsteps of a wayward owner approaching the door. It comes to life, Keith feels it crash through his mind like a train leaping off its rails. The Black Lion leaps into space, without a Paladin, and calls for the Castleship to follow.

It leads the Castleship out of the wormhole, and to a singular ship. A ship not meant for this kind of deep-space expedition. Where it came from, they have no idea. The SOS pings on their radar.

Joy fills Keith’s mind, forced in like pouring a bucket of iced water over his head.

_IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou_. The Black Lion whispers as it catches the ship in its fangs. It’s so delicate that it doesn’t leave a scratch.

They pry open the cockpit themselves, in the open hangar of the Castleship with all of the lions watching.

It’s a miracle. Their prayers have been answered, because, inside; withered and on the brink of death, lies Shiro.

He’s so weak they have to lift him out themselves.

They have to get him to the med bay immediately. He needs rest, nourishment, water, so many things. They cling to him instead. A beacon of hope, relief staining their faces with wet tears.

“You’re back,” Keith croaks. Pidge echoes his words. They’re all babbling.

“Of course I came back,” Shiro says, strong for them even when he’s so weak, “I love you.”

 

* * *

 

Hunk finds Allura standing alone on the bridge. She scowls at him.

“You left dinner early,” he says, and holds out a plate, “I thought you might be hungry.”

Allura’s face softens, “Thank you, Hunk.”

They step closer to one another to hand off the food.

“So, um,” Hunk says nervously, “about the fight—”

“Keith may be Black Paladin, but he’s wrong,” Allura snaps.

Hunk flinches, and Allura composes herself.

“I’m sorry,” she says, and changes her tone, “he doesn’t understand the honor he’s been given. And I can’t understand your mistrust of the Lions.”

“Don’t you hear them?” Hunk asks, “you know what’s in them. What they did to Shiro— why aren’t you afraid?”

“A Paladin is bonded to the Lions for life,” Allura says, “they require us to guide them, as we require them to fight for us. They are magnificent, almost beyond comprehension, and yet they need us as avatars to connect to the world. We teach them love, kindness and bravery. Is that so horrible?”

Hunk shrugs his shoulders, “The way you see it… I guess?”

He trails off, and Allura lets the silence settle a moment before she ventures, “But that is not how you see the Lions?”

Hunk shakes his head now, “They’re playing with us. I think. We’re like… ants to them. Or a cute pet. As long as they like us, they’ll keep us around, but once they’re done…”

“Why don’t you leave, then?” Allura asks, “why stay?”

Hunk laughs bitterly, and gestures around them, “Where would I go? They know where Earth is— they’ll just come find us again.”

 

* * *

 

Pidge has gotten used to walking the halls at night again. At first she was too afraid to do so, but now she does it as an act of defiance. This is her home. The beast can call to her, coaxes her out of bed, but she refuses to go to it.

It’s the night cycle, so only the lights around her turn on, and they turn off as soon as she passes. It makes it seem like she’s walking in a pocket of light. She likes that. Even if it makes the hall ahead completely dark.

“You shouldn’t be up so late,” Shiro says from the darkness. She can only make out the glint of his eyes.

Pidge nearly screams.

Shiro moves forwards into her light.

His eyebrows raise, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Why didn’t the sensors work for you?” Pidge demands, clutching her chest, “were you standing still so long they forgot about you?”

Shiro shrugs. He’s acting weird.

He’s avoiding the truth, which means it was probably something worse.

“Were you… having a flashback?” Pidge guesses.

Shiro doesn’t look at her.

“It’s okay,” Pidge assures him, and she’s missed him so much that she can’t help but step forwards into his space, and wraps her arms around his waist. He’s here, he’s here. He’s home.

“You can talk when you’re ready,” she assures him.

“You should go to sleep,” Shiro says as a response, “we need you at your best.”

Pidge smiles and salutes him playfully, hoping to make him smile, “Aye, aye, sir.”

 

* * *

 

As strong as he is for them, Shiro doesn’t have the energy for dealing with other people. Whenever they have visitors from the Coalition, or any wayward strays that the team picks up in their journeys, Shiro will slip away to his room before introductions can be made. The team is used to explaining that he’s not well, and means no offense.

And for as long as the outsiders stay, Shiro disappears from their lives. It makes them all antsy, for fear that one day they’ll look into his room and he won’t be there anymore. That maybe they’ve imagined him coming home at all. The strangers pick up on this vibe, and make their visits short. All of the humans recognize this, but they want Shiro back more than they care about being respectful.

Shiro is theirs. He’s more important than anyone.

Then, finally, the visit ends and they see their new friends off. And then Shiro returns to them.

The Paladins can relax now. Shiro’s with them. They’re all safe.

Everything goes back to normal.

 

* * *

 

Come to think of it… has Shiro slept at all since he came back?

 

* * *

 

“Why aren’t you using the Lion?” Shiro demands.

He’s barely been back a day. He’s so frail, wrapped in sheets as white as his skin. His long hair is matted still, and crowds into his face. Pidge and Allura are the two on duty to keep him company.

“Because… you know,” Pidge says, “they’re scary. We thought they ate you!”

Shiro shakes his head, “But look at me. I’m fine!”

“We didn’t know that!” Pidge protests.

“You have to go to them,” Shiro insists, “you have to pilot them.”

“Agreed,” Allura says.

Pidge clenches her fingers into small fists, “We have to decide as a team. We already said we aren’t getting in them ever again.”

“That doesn’t make sense!” Shiro shouts, and Pidge flinches back. Shiro lets go of the tension in his shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” he says, and he holds his arms out. She jumps into the hug. She missed him so much.

“You’re the Paladins of Voltron,” Shiro says softly, “you need the Lions.”

“I don’t trust them,” Pidge mumbles.

“I do,” Shiro says, “and you can trust me to know what’s best.”

 

* * *

 

“You wouldn’t be so scared if you went deeper,” Shiro comments.

Keith and Hunk glance up from where they’ve been talking quietly with one another.

“Sorry?” Hunk says. They didn’t even hear Shiro approach.

“You’re afraid of your Lions,” Shiro says.

“Duh,” Hunk says on reflex, and then rushes to add, “shouldn’t we be?”

“No,” Shiro shakes his head, “if you go deeper— let them in— you’ll realize there’s nothing to fear.”

“What do you mean?” Keith demands, “the Black Lion wants me to go in and never come out! If I stop fighting it, then I’ll— it will— like what happened to you!”

Shiro shrugs, “And I’m completely fine. You’re worried about nothing. If you let the Lions in, then everything will be okay.”

 

* * *

 

“Aren’t you hungry?” Hunk asks.

Shiro picks at the food on his plate, but has yet to take a bite the entire meal.

“Shiro?” Hunk tries again, when Shiro doesn’t answer.

Shiro sits up slowly, straightening his back when he realizes he’s being observed.

“Yes?” he asks.

“Are you… do you want to eat something else?” Hunk asks.

Shiro glances down at his plate, and then his gaze flickers over the other Paladins around the table. They’re all trying to pretend they’re not watching, but they’re bad at it. They can’t help but worry over Shiro ever since he came back.

“I’m okay,” Shiro says, and sighs wearily, “I just… craving something else.”

“From home?” Hunk tries, “I miss earth food too.”

Shiro forces a smile, all teeth, “Yeah. Something like that.”

 

* * *

 

Coran looks up from his work and spots Shiro.

He nearly falls off his feet in fright.

“Ah! Shiro! I didn’t hear you,” he says, and clutches at his hearts. The human walks so softly that Coran never knows where he is. Not to mention it’s the middle of the night. Everyone should be in their bed! That’s why Coran likes to do some work now, while monitoring the scanners, so that he can have some peace and quiet.

Shiro doesn’t say anything, but watches him.

“Can’t sleep?” Coran asks, “you’re welcome to join me, if you’d like the company.”

“We wanted to say thank you,” Shiro says.

Coran is surprised by this. He can’t think of any recent thing he’s done for Shiro specifically.

“Your faith in the Lions does not go unnoticed,” Shiro explains, “even though you don’t have the qualities to be a Paladin. We appreciate it.”

Maybe it’s the late hour, or the comfort the dark brings, or that it’s just the two of them and Coran has always appreciated Shiro’s level head.

“To be honest…” and even now Coran is hesitating to speak his most private thoughts, “I had doubts, back then, when Alfor and Zarkon found the Lions. It just… it seemed strange. The whole process— how Alfor seemed to know how to contain them, how Zarkon so easily supported him. Maybe it was the gods’ will, maybe Oriande was full of such knowledge…”

“But?” Shiro asks.

“Maybe I didn’t know enough then— so much happened, with the start of the war and all. But I’ve never seen the Lions like this— their Paladins are _terrified_ of them. It makes me wonder if the humans are right. Should we be concerned? We don’t know what we have locked up down there.”

“You don’t have anything locked up,” Shiro assures him. He speaks with such confidence that Coran trusts him, “the Lions are here to help. You, Alfor, and even Zarkon, helped make that happen. We couldn’t even begin to fight this war without you.”

Coran relaxes a bit. His stomach feels twisted for even voicing his thoughts, but Shiro’s words make sense.

“Everything is going according to plan,” Shiro says, “there’s nothing to fear. I know the Lions. The Paladins trust me, and I say they’re okay. You can trust me too.”

 

* * *

 

“I never realized just how… curious they are,” Allura says. She frowns like it’s still not the right way to describe it, but fails to come up with another word.

“They’re playing with us,” Lance mutters, “enjoy the novelty while it lasts.”

“I don’t know what you’ve come to believe, but the Lions are _not_ malicious,” Allura snaps.

“The Black Lion killed Shiro!” Keith yells.

“It did _not_ ,” Allura insists, “the bond between Lion and Paladin is a miraculous thing. Shiro asked much of the Black Lion, and it must have asked the same of him. It’s power is teleportation, perhaps it sent him to safety?”

“That’s a load of bull and you know it,” Lance remarks.

“Watch your tone,” Allura warns him, “I am still your superior officer.”

“And you’re also fresh meat,” Keith reminds her, “just like the rest of us.”

 

* * *

 

Come to think of it… has Shiro eaten _anything_ since he came back?

 

* * *

 

Shiro walks out of the Black Lion, and his face is surprisingly calm. The Lion hasn’t moved.

Keith’s hands shake as Shiro comes to a stop in front of him. He, and everyone else, are gathered in a semi-circle in the Lion’s hangar. None of them wanted Shiro to board the Lion again, even though Shiro insisted on testing if he could pilot it again.

“It won’t respond to me,” Shiro says.

“That’s a good thing,” Keith says, “you’re safe.”

Shiro smiles, as if Keith’s said something charming, “You’ll have to stay as the Black Paladin. I’ll help as much as I can from the Castleship.”

“But we don’t want a Black Paladin,” Pidge cuts in, “we want to stop being Paladins!”

“But you have to,” Shiro insists sharply. Allura nods in agreement.

“Shiro, you _know_ what that means,” Keith says, “what will happen to us.”

“We’re all the universe has,” Shiro says. He seems shocked, like he can’t understand why everyone is so fearful.

Keith leans into the touch when Shiro sets a hand on his shoulder, “You have to pilot Voltron. You have no choice.”

 

* * *

 

It’s dark save for the stars shining through the open windows of the bridge. Keith’s sitting back on his hands, looking up at the unfamiliar night sky. Shiro hasn’t said much, but then again, Shiro’s been oddly quiet since he came back.

It kind of reminds Keith of the time Shiro let him try some beer, before Keith had spat it into the sand and declared he would never drink something so disgusting. Shiro had cried laughing. Things were so simple back then.

“Do you regret leaving Earth?” Keith asks.

Shiro stirs, shaking off shadows as he looks at Keith.

“Of course not,” Shiro says, “I’m happy the Lions chose us.”

“That’s not,” Keith trails off. He has a bad habit of being too blunt, so he tries to soften his words, “do you… miss Earth? Miss who you were? Or what you could have had?”

Shiro barely lets Keith finish talking, “No. This is much better.”

Keith can remember how excited Shiro was when he told Keith that he planned on proposing to Adam with a rock from Kerberos, when he returned. And how angry Shiro had been when they’d broken up.

Part of Keith wishes they’d never been brought into this. Into sleeping with one eye open, as the Lions whisper in their dreams and coax them into sleepwalking down the halls. Into the taste of battle and the thrills of victory.

“I wish it wasn’t so complicated,” Keith admits.

“It doesn’t have to be,” Shiro replies, “you’re the only one making it hard.”

 

* * *

 

The city burns. Galra Destroyers fly overhead. The battle is over.

Lance watches the flames grow, hears people screaming as they’re rounded up. Galra troops fill the streets.

“Lance!” Hunk calls, and grabs Lance’s arm, “we gotta go!”

The Lions could have saved the day. They had the power to drive the Galra forces back, to turn the tide of the war. Lance takes it all in— the buildings crumbling, the bitter taste of failure in his mouth. The frustrated tears in his eyes. They can’t win a war like this.

“Lance.”

Keith’s voice sounds ragged, like he’s been swallowing smoke. Lance looks over to him.

They’d decided not to pilot the Lions, to save themselves. To try and find a way to defeat the Galra without them. Until they knew how to stop the Lions too.

Keith looks from the city to Lance. He’s crying too.

The Red Lion whispers in the back of Lance’s mind. It promises vengeance, and glory. Promises of hurting the Galra tenfold for the massacre before them.

“We need them,” Lance relents. He’s clenching his teeth.

“They need us,” Keith says. He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself.

Hunk tugs again on Lance’s arm. Lance lets himself be pulled along. Keith follows, keeping close.

Hunk’s been listening to them, and finally speaks up as they near the Castleship, “Shiro’s been saying we should pilot again. And if we— if we take it easy…”

If they don’t push too hard. If they don’t ask too much, then the Lions won’t take in return.

Lance hesitantly speaks, “Shiro said it was okay…”

Keith nods, and none of them acknowledge the fear around them. Keith made them a promise, that he’d never take the Paladins back to the Lions. It goes against his nature to break his word.

“We’ll use the Lions,” Keith decides, “because Shiro said it was safe.”

 

* * *

 

Keith feels the Black Lion’s awareness surround him as he settles in the cockpit.

“Go deeper,” he whispers to himself. Like Shiro said.

The Lion welcomes him, the great chasm of it’s being opening like a trap in his mind.

Every instinct tells Keith to turn back. Shiro’s voice guides him forwards. Shiro did this, and he’s fine. The Lions don’t scare him. They’re safe. Shiro’s safe. He can trust Shiro.

Keith screws his eyes shut as he sinks. It feels like he’s drowning. He pushes himself further.

The darkness

                                          **SCREAMS**.

 

 

_NONONO_

 

                                                    _KEITH NO KEITH DON'T TRUST IT_

 

_DON’T DO IT_

 

_GOBACKGOBACKGOBACK_

 

The trap springs shut, narrowly missing him as Keith throws himself out of his chair.

He screams, hits the side of the cockpit and scrambles to get upright. The Lion goes quiet, lurking, waiting.

“Oh my god,” Keith whimpers. He has to get out of here.

The hatch opens as Keith runs out of his Lion. He’s going to flee the hangar— he’s going to get the others and they’re going to get on a ship and _run_. They can’t be here, it’s not safe! It’s not safe!

Shiro’s standing in front of him. Keith skids to a stop. He knows no one has entered the hangar since he arrived. How is Shiro here?

“You look scared,” Shiro says, “you shouldn’t be. It’s safe. We love you.”

He smiles, baring his teeth. It’s more like a snarl.

The real Shiro’s screaming still echoes in Keith’s mind. Keith’s skin goosebumps.

Shiro’s eyes are dark, like empty pieces of the night sky. How has Keith never noticed that they don’t reflect light?

The chasm opens wide, the trap ready to spring once more.

“Go back,” Shiro urges, and he moves closer, “you were so close. Trust me. I love you.”

In that moment, everything becomes clear.

“I know what you really are,” Keith says, and summons his bayard.

 

* * *

 

“I love nature shows,” Lance says.

Pidge wrinkles her nose as she scrunches her face in disbelief, “What? They’re so _boring_!”

“Nah,” Lance laughs, “they’re great. I learned a lot about the world.”

Pidge shakes her head, “Why are you talking about them?”

“I was thinking…” Lance muses, “about… about what the Lions are. Because they’re alive, so they have to eat, right? But how do they hunt?”

“I don’t think they hunt,” Pidge says, “we just… fell into their laps.”

They don’t argue for a second that they are not prey to the Lions. It’s just a waiting game for when the Lions will make their move.

“There’s animals like that. Ambush predators,” Lance thinks for a moment, “like, uh, I think jaguars leap out of trees and eat people. Or spiders wait for something to fly into their web. Or— oh! Oh! There’s this messed up fish in the ocean that dangles a light as bait, and then the other fish can’t resist going to it, even though they probably _know_ it’s a trap. And then they get eaten.”

“I’ve heard of that one!” Pidge says, “it’s gross. But I don’t think the Lions match any of that.”

“Why not?” Lance asks.

“Well, we’re only piloting the Lions to beat the Galra. And the Lions don’t control _all_ of the Galra. So, like, they can’t be baiting us with that. Besides, I feel like we’d know if the Lions were trying to trick us. There’s nothing they could do that we wouldn’t be suspicious of.”

Lance considers her words for a moment. He feels like he’s being scolded, but he’s not sure if he wants to win this argument at all.

“I think the point is that we wouldn’t know we were being baited until it’s too late.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for the final chapter sometime next week ;)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the original scene I wrote for this entire concept, which spawned the entirely of the 'as the lion' story
> 
> Happy Halloween!

Shiro walks into the room as if they hadn’t killed him last week. As if they hadn’t thrown the pieces of what remained into the void. As if they hadn’t sealed the doors to the Castleship and abandoned it with the Lions trapped inside.  
  
They’d hoped that would stop them, or at least slow them down. They’d hoped they’d had a chance to run and hide in the vastness of the universe.  
  
The Paladins are on their feet in seconds, scrambling to make distance between them and the thing in the shape of their friend.  
  
“We found you,” Shiro says, and he smiles at them. He’s baring his teeth. It’s more like a snarl.  
  
They’re all mute with shock.  
  
“Don’t be scared. We’ll always come back to you. You are our Paladins,” the monster says with Shiro’s voice.  
  
His eyes are dark. A universe without stars. Black holes, taking the light in.  
  
When you stare into the abyss, the abyss looks back.  
  
Keith plants himself between Shiro and the others. He draws his bayard, but his hands are shaking. Coran pulls Allura behind him.  
  
“There’s no need for fighting,” it says. He’s trying to be soothing even when the creatures pretending to be Shiro cannot understand why the Paladins fear it, “You’re ours forever. We love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Lions are hungry


End file.
